RA Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan's speech at the 31st session of the OSCE Council of Ministers.
Dear Chairman, Your Excellencies,
Dear colleagues,
First of all, I would like to thank the Maltese Presidency for chairing the organization during the past challenging year.
During the year, Armenia exerted its utmost efforts to ensure that the OSCE confronts existential challenges, in particular by contributing to the organization's efforts to strengthen trust and cooperation among participating states and by calling for the rapid deployment of the early warning and conflict prevention toolkit. Unfortunately, we all failed in our efforts, both collectively and individually.
While Armenia has long consistently advocated for the full application of its principles throughout the OSCE area of responsibility, warning of early warning signals of the use of force and calling for swift and decisive action, the OSCE's mechanisms and conflict prevention tools have remained inactive, to say the least.
However, our criticism should be understood only in the context that we want to have an effective security organization with independent institutions that operate strictly according to their mandates, obligations and principles, regardless of any other circumstances.
your excellencies,
The challenges that the whole world is facing today force us to be more vigilant in matters related to peace and stability. Taking into account the above, Armenia continues its constructive involvement in the negotiations aimed at the full regulation of relations with Azerbaijan.
This year, bilateral negotiations led to the signing of the border demarcation regulation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which adopted the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991 as the basis for demarcation. On the ground, we managed to demarcate more than 12 km of border, and we hope that this document will pave the way for the effective continuation of the process and thus significantly contribute to the establishment of stability in the region.
We have also made some progress towards the signing of the Peace Agreement between our two countries. We have agreed on 15 of the 17 articles of the preamble and the draft agreement, and if there is sufficient political will, it can be quickly finalized and signed. Armenia has continuously proved its readiness to sign the agreement and close the page of hostility in the South Caucasus.
We are convinced that peace has no alternative, because the people of our region have already suffered a lot from bloody conflicts. Despite all the difficulties, we are determined to continue our efforts to achieve the desired goal. In this context, the "Crossroads of Peace" canal project proposed by the Armenian side has a great potential to increase confidence, strengthen the atmosphere of trust and promote better cooperation between the countries of the region.
We believe that the full settlement of relations between Armenia and Turkey, especially the establishment of diplomatic relations and the opening of borders, can be another important contribution to peace and stability in the region. To this end, we will continue the dialogue with our Turkish partners and implement some practical steps, including a joint assessment of the technical requirements for the bridge between Armenia and Turkey, as well as the border crossing on the Gyumri-Kars railway on the peoples beyond the borders.
Dear colleagues,
As we approach the important milestone of the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, it is a good opportunity for each participating state to clearly and unequivocally reaffirm its commitment to the core principles of the OSCE particularly to strengthen early warning and conflict prevention efforts.
In conclusion, we would like to assure our Finnish partners that Armenia is ready to work closely to advance the important work of this organization.
Thank you.
